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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

At last, hatch season is here again. It’s a great day when I arrive at the grocery store to find piles and piles of these seasonal green chiles from New Mexico. There’s a stack of hot chiles and a separate one of mild ones, and all the products made with the chiles are tucked into every corner of the store. Our local stores also roast the chiles, and you can buy them roasted whole or already chopped. I kind of enjoy watching them blister on the grill, so I tend to buy the fresh, raw chiles and roast them at home. During their short season, I’m perfectly content to just toss chopped, roasted hatch chiles into pretty much everything I cook, but this year I wanted to stuff some whole chiles too. I pondered what to use for stuffing and what to serve with the chiles for a few days, and then I stumbled upon this omelet recipe which answered both questions. This is from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The roasted, whole chiles are stuffed with goat cheese, and then they’re surrounded by eggs and cooked into a big omelet. Of course, the same concept could be achieved with stuffed poblanos or anaheim chiles, but it was particularly fun to use some beloved late summer hatch chiles in this.

I had already roasted some hatch chiles on the grill the night before I planned to make this omelet. So, all I had to do was peel the charred layer off the chiles, split each down one side, and remove the seeds. The cheese stuffing was a quick mix of crumbled goat cheese, chopped cilantro leaves, and sliced green onions. I doubled the original recipe and stuffed four chiles with the cheese mixture. The remaining cheese that didn’t fit in the chiles was whisked into six eggs. The stuffed chiles were placed in a saute pan with some melted butter and were warmed over medium heat. Then the whisked eggs were poured into the pan and all around the chiles. I thought ahead and realized the chiles might be a challenge to cut through when serving. So, I arranged the chiles with their tips pointing to the center so they would fit into four pieces of omelet without being cut. The eggs started cooking on the stovetop, and as soon as the omelet began to set, the saute pan was placed under the broiler until the omelet was golden and puffed.

I soon realized that this is not a particularly photogenic dish, but it was such a good idea I had to share it anyway. The stuffed chiles could have served as an hors d’oeuvre with some bread or tortillas, but they were divine in the omelet. The mild goat cheese with the fresh green onion and cilantro flavors mingling with the earthy, smoky chiles all embedded in a puffy omelet was genius. It was so simple but so delicious, and I never would have thought to do this myself.

You are so lucky. I wonder how far north they ship these peppers? I am just above Montana and Wyoming. I would make a trip just to buy some. In the meantime, I have to be satisfied with some canned chiles I brought back from the U.S. last year.

I wondered what to do with those chiles that I see in the huge bins at the market. I figured they were like poblanos but they have a much stronger "pepper" aroma (which is a good thing, to me). Now I know exactly what to make with them!

Holy cow! That Deborah Madison is full of surprises. Actually, she lives in New Mexico so I'm not surprised that she knows her way around a chile. That being said, what a fabulous way to use a fabulous ingredient. I just used padron peppers last night for the first time and I am in love. I don't know if we get hatch up here but I will try this with poblanos if not. Yum Lisa!

I keep hearing about these wonderful peppers that I have never tried! I know one thing for sure I would love to have that beautiful omelet! Thanks for such a wonderful post, hope you are enjoying this labor day weekend!

Oh, Lisa..when I opened this page, my eyes popped out of my head. That is one fierce looking omelet and the stuffed hatch chile peppers in it is killing me because I want it so badly! I would love to order some hatch chiles, if only just to make this!